Sonnet Gives The Lowdown On OS X And Upgrade Cards

Sonnet Technologies has released information regarding the use of OS X Beta, and the final shipping version of OS X, with regards to compatibility with Sonnet upgrade cards. Sonnet is one of the leaders in the Apple upgrade market, and there are many users interested to know whether their "tweaked" machine will run the latest and greatest OS. According to Sonnet:

Macintosh OS X Public Beta
The release of OS X Public Beta is officially supported by Apple only with Macintosh models originally shipped with G3 or G4 processors. By the time of the official release of OS X, Sonnet is committed to extending this support to some, but not all additional computers that have been upgraded with a Sonnet G3 or G4 Crescendo or Encore processor card. This support is partially in place for the Public Beta. This document describes the current support level and Sonnet?s anticipated future support level. However, Sonnet provides technical assistance for the Public Beta only as noted below.

Crescendo for PCI Macs with Processor Slot (Crescendo PPC Series)
As previously announced, Sonnet remains committed to full support of the final release of OS X. In some cases the Public Beta can be successfully installed on a PPC-type machine. However, at this time, the Crescendo backside cache will not function, reducing performance significantly. Sonnet will release a driver to fully support OS X on these systems when the driver becomes available.

Encore G3 (ZIF upgrades)
Encore G3 products have been tested with the OS X Public Beta, and are fully compatible in all Apple G3 and G4 systems supporting ZIF upgrades. The Sonnet Encore G3 does not require software and will remain fully compatible with OS X as well as future Apple OS upgrades for these machines. Sonnet fully supports this configuration.

Encore G4 (ZIF upgrades)

Power Macintosh G4. Encore G4 upgrades are currently fully compatible with the Public Beta in the Power Macintosh G4 supporting ZIF upgrades. The Sonnet Encore G4 does not require software in this computer and will remain fully compatible with OS X as well as future Apple OS upgrades. Sonnet fully supports this configuration.

Power Macintosh G3 (Blue and White). Encore G4 upgrades are conditionally compatible with the Public Beta in the Power Macintosh G3 (Blue and White). If the Sonnet software (required to remove the G4 firmware block) is installed under OS-9 or earlier, then OS X Public Beta can be subsequently installed and run. However, the installer itself will not run under OS X. If an Encore G4 is being installed after the installation of the Public Beta, the G4 installer software must be run from an OS 9 system, boot disk or partition. Sonnet will release an installer for OS X at a future date. Sonnet supports this configuration as described.

Power Macintosh G3 Mini Tower, Desktop, Server, All-In-One. As previously announced, Sonnet remains committed to full support of the final release of OS X on these platforms. Encore G4 upgrades are not currently compatible with the OS X Public Beta. Sonnet will release a driver to support OS X on these systems when the driver becomes available.

Crescendo L2, Crescendo 7200, Crescendo PB 1400, Crescendo NuBus.
It is likely that Sonnet will be able to support OS X with the Crescendo L2 and Crescendo 7200. It is unlikely that Sonnet will be able to support OS X with the Crescendo PB and Crescendo NuBus. The OS X Public Beta is not currently compatible with any of these products. While every effort is being made to resolve OS X compatibility, no specific assumptions should be made regarding future OS X compatibility with these platforms. Sonnet will release drivers to fully support OS X on these systems as the drivers become available.

Power Macintosh G3 and G4 systems with PCI slots: Tango appears to be fully compatible with the OS X Public Beta on these systems, however, Sonnet is still testing this configuration. Tango will be compatible with all of these systems with the official OS?X release. Sonnet fully supports this configuration.

PCI Power Macintosh systems upgraded with Sonnet G3 or G4 processor cards. Tango will be compatible with OS X in these systems once Sonnet has released the respective Crescendo/Encore compatibility solutions. Based on some third party reports, Tango may be compatible with the Public Beta in some of these systems. Sonnet will support this configuration as it phases in Crescendo/Encore processor upgrade card support for those machines.

PCI Power Macintosh systems upgraded with processors other than the Sonnet series. Should any other upgrade card manufacturer provide full support for OS X on any of these platforms, Tango should be expected to work. However, Sonnet cannot guarantee Tango compatibility with OS X in these systems.

PCI Power Macintosh 601, 603 or 604 systems not upgraded to G3 or G4. Apple has stated that a G3 or G4 processor is required to load and operate OS X.

Tempo (Ultra ATA66 PCI Adapter Card)
Tempo will be compatible with OS X on Power Macintosh G3 or G4 systems and PCI platforms upgraded with a supported Sonnet Crescendo/Encore G3 or G4 processor card. However, The Tempo card does not support the OS X Public Beta at this time. A downloadable firmware update will be required. Sonnet will release an update to fully support OS X when the update becomes available.

You can find more information, and updates as new releases of OS X become available, at the Sonnet web site.